Chapter 38 The Lone City (38)

Chapter 38: The Lonely City (38)

"I've given it some serious thought. One shouldn't be swayed by emotions, so I've decided to temporarily forgive Mr. Jiang for his impolite behavior," Lin Yanqing said with an air of seriousness.

Jiang Songnian, standing by the sofa, nodded in agreement. "I'm very grateful for your generosity."

"Uh..." He Yunchuan scratched his head, pointing at the bedroom door in confusion. "Uh, why did you come out of the room?"

Jiang Songnian replied, "Because I rang the doorbell, and no one answered."

He Yunchuan pressed, "So why did you come out of the room?"

Xia Li chimed in, "Didn't he just say? Because he rang the doorbell, and no one answered! So he came out of the room. Can't you figure that out?"

He Yunchuan smiled politely. "Lili, you're so smart."

Xia Li beamed. "Of course I am."

He Yunchuan's eyes darted around. "In that case, Dad, you and Zhuang Jiaxi can sleep next door tonight. That way, everyone has more space."

He Yuanshan agreed. "No problem for me. I'll sleep over there tonight and come back in the morning."

Jiang Songnian shrugged. "I'm fine with that too. Their place is a bit of a mess; I'll go tidy up in a bit."

"I appreciate it," He Yunchuan said with a full smile, brimming with anticipation for the upcoming cohabitation.

Jiang Songnian replied, "Don't mention it."

That night.

After his shower, He Yunchuan headed towards the bedroom, scheming about how to coax Xia Li over. Full of expectation, he pushed the door open and saw Jiang Songnian lying on the bed, fiddling with a gun.

"Huh???" He Yunchuan was puzzled. "Why are you lying here?"

Jiang Songnian casually tucked the gun under the pillow, interlacing his fingers behind his head. "There's only one bed over there. They're sleeping there, so of course I had to come over here."

Jiang Songnian turned on his side, propping his head up with his palm, and asked calmly, "I already showered in the master bedroom. We can turn off the lights. Do you want to sleep on the inside or the outside?"

He Yunchuan took a deep breath, forcing a smile. "Let's discuss this. How about you go sleep in the master bedroom and swap with Xia Li?"

"Normally, that wouldn't be a problem," Jiang Songnian said. "But I just got called a creep today. I'm trying my best to play the role of a gentleman now. How about you beat me up? Preferably until I'm black and blue. Then we can have a good reason to fall out and swap rooms."

He Yunchuan fell silent for a moment, then pulled the thin blanket from the foot of the bed and said seriously, "I'll sleep on the floor."

*

Lin Yanqing got up early to take stock of their supplies. There was a box of dehydrated vegetables that was almost untouched, about half a box of canned goods, over half a box of compressed biscuits, some seasonings, but the dried goods, rice, and flour were nearly gone. They would be completely empty after today.

About half a box of medicine had been given away, but there was still a fair amount of vitamins. They could handle emergencies, but for the long term, the reserves weren't ample.

Fortunately, the little potted plant he was nurturing had grown a bit taller, about the length of a knuckle. It was a tender green color, soft and damp to the touch.

Lin Yanqing had promised Zhuang Jiaxi he'd make wraps. Today, he opened a can of luncheon meat, tore open two packets of instant corn kernels, mixed the remaining flour with water, added a little salt to make a batter, and fried several flatbreads.

Zhuang Jiaxi came over, drawn by the smell, and obediently sat at the table, helping pour the cooled water into the water bucket.

Lin Yanqing handed him a piece of candy, ruffled his hair, and said, "Go play on the sofa. I'll call you in a bit."

Zhuang Jiaxi nodded timidly, clutching the hem of his shirt as he asked, "Big Brother, when will my mom come back?"

Lin Yanqing said with a troubled expression, "It might be a while longer." He took Zhuang Jiaxi's hand and gently shook it, smiling. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you."

Zhuang Jiaxi wiped away a tear pitifully and nodded vigorously.

Lin Yanqing slathered sauce onto the six fried flatbreads, placed luncheon meat and corn kernels on them, rolled them up, and set them aside.

Seeing Jiang Songnian go to the balcony, He Yunchuan limped into the kitchen, annoyed. "A Qing, I'm not sleeping in the same room as Jiang Songnian tonight. That guy's a restless sleeper—snoring, grinding his teeth, and he even kicked me onto the floor. My foot injury isn't healed yet; I can't rest like this."

Lin Yanqing replied calmly, "Then you can sleep with me tonight, and let Lili sleep with him."

He Yunchuan flushed with anger. "Have you lost your mind?!"

"Please consider our food situation first," Lin Yanqing said, shoving a plate into his hands. "Call everyone over to eat."

He Yunchuan sighed helplessly and carried the plate to the dining table. Lin Yanqing had brought the potted plant in at some point, placing it on the table to enjoy the air conditioning. He treated the plant like a precious treasure, worried it wasn't getting enough sun but also afraid the heat would wilt it.

He Yunchuan found it in the way and wanted to move it. Just as he reached out, he saw the plant move slightly, as if it had peeked its head out to look at him before quickly retreating into the soil.

He Yunchuan was startled, breaking into a sweat.

Lin Yanqing came over with a plate, casually moved the potted plant to a sunny windowsill, and called in the bored person sunbathing and training his heat tolerance to come eat.

He Yunchuan thought he was seeing things, rubbed his eyes, and sat down in a chair.

During the meal, he kept glancing at the potted plant and suddenly asked, "Lin Yanqing, that 'magic pill' you gave me to eat, was it that pot of grass?"

"Sort of," Lin Yanqing replied, then asked Jiang Songnian, "Is it tasty?"

"A feast for the eyes," Jiang Songnian said with a smile.

Lin Yanqing snorted a laugh, causing a corn kernel to fall out of his wrap.

"I think it's been watching me," He Yunchuan said, sweating. He put down his wrap and stared at the windowsill. "It's hiding in the soil, watching me through the pot. Lili, do you see it?"

"I think so too. It seems to be looking at you," Xia Li responded dismissively while pulling apart the wrap He Yunchuan had set down and picking out the luncheon meat. "You might still not be feeling well. Eat less meat, have something lighter."

He Yunchuan was torn between laughter and tears, pushing the corn kernels toward Xia Li as well. The eerie atmosphere dissipated.

"I'm thinking of going out in a few days," Lin Yanqing said seriously after finishing his last bite of wrap.

He Yuanshan quickly said, "That's too dangerous, isn't it? Hold on a little longer. The lockdown might be lifted soon."

"Our current food will only last two weeks at most. We can't wait until we're completely out before trying to find a solution," Lin Yanqing mused. "When I fought with Xue Xiaofeng that day, he never attacked me. I suspect the crazed ones can't smell my scent. If that's the case, coming and going would be much easier for me."

Xia Li whispered, "Brother, let's just ration more carefully. Don't go out and take risks. If we have to, we can go dig up some grass or something."

Lin Yanqing pinched his cheek. "We're not at that point yet."

As Jiang Songnian spoke, the light on the ceiling flickered and buzzed. He pointed upward. "If the power goes out, things will get even worse."

Zhuang Jiaxi finished a whole wrap in a few bites, sucking his fingers, his slightly reddened eyes darting around to look at others' plates.

Lin Yanqing smiled at him and asked, "There are a few more flatbreads left. Do you want some?"

Zhuang Jiaxi suddenly beamed, nodding happily. "Yes!"

"Wait a moment," Lin Yanqing said, going into the kitchen to get the flatbreads.

Xia Li stared at Zhuang Jiaxi for a while, murmuring, "Xiaoxi's appetite is all grown up now."

He Yuanshan patted Zhuang Jiaxi's head kindly and said, "The little kid is growing tall, becoming a big kid now."

Zhuang Jiaxi covered his face shyly, waiting eagerly for his extra snack.

Xia Li's eyes curved into crescents as he smiled, gazing at Zhuang Jiaxi for a long while until Lin Yanqing returned. Only then did he withdraw his gaze and focus on eating the food in his own bowl.

After the meal, Lin Yanqing had some free time and sat on the sofa flipping through a notebook. He had flipped through it countless times—its contents were messy, including records of income and expenses, casual sketches, and notes on special dates, such as Lin Yanqing's birthdate, vaccination dates, the first time he spoke, the first time he crawled, and the first time he walked. Every key moment had been meticulously recorded by Lin Moshen.

Jiang Songnian sat beside him, resting an arm on the back of the sofa, nuzzling his temple affectionately, and said, "You called 'Dad' at just seven months? That early?"

Lin Yanqing smiled without answering. He turned a page and said softly, "He remembered the date wrong. It wasn't that day."

Jiang Songnian looked at him curiously.

Lin Yanqing flipped to a later page and saw a drawing of a pear. He frowned and turned back a few pages.

"A pear?" Lin Yanqing stopped at a page with an inkstone, next to which were a few peanuts and some branches. "The inkstone represents me, the peanuts represent my dad's fellow villager. So the pear... could it be Lili? Did my dad ever meet Lili?"

He Yuanshan was sharpening a pencil nearby. He looked up and said, "Lili was born the same year your father vanished."

"Uncle He, was Lili even born yet at that time?" Lin Yanqing thought for a moment. "I seem to remember that when my dad entrusted me to Uncle Xia, he hadn't been born yet."

He Yuanshan frowned, racking his brains, then suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! I remember now—he actually hadn't been born yet. But the name had already been chosen. I remember it vividly—that very day, Old Xia excitedly said they had picked the name 'Xia Li,' which could work for either a boy or a girl, and both he and his wife loved it." He paused, as if unsure of his memory. "Come to think of it, I remember your dad cried that day, then suddenly ran out and didn't come back until midnight. After returning, he said he had to go on a business trip and might not come back."

He thought for a moment and shook his head. "These two things might not be related, but he must have heard the name 'Lili' before he left."

Jiang Songnian took the notebook and flipped further back, saying in surprise, "This page is in the middle. When the pear was drawn, only a few pages of this notebook had been used, so it probably has nothing to do with Xia Li."

He continued flipping and stopped at another page. This one not only had a pear, an inkstone, and peanuts but also a small flower, though the branches were gone. Jiang Songnian guessed the branches might represent Chen Ya, but who could the small flower be?

"A flower?" Lin Yanqing rubbed his temple and said with certainty, "It's Granny A Hua, the mother of Peanut."

"And there's the pear again." Jiang Songnian pondered and said, "The inkstone is you, Peanut and A Hua are his fellow townsmen. Could the pear be himself?"

Lin Yanqing shook his head, then suddenly noticed a rectangle drawn behind the pear. "What does this box mean?"

Jiang Songnian hesitated. "Could it be another friend?"

Lin Yanqing didn't think so. He was puzzled for a long time until he realized Xia Li and He Yunchuan hadn't appeared for a while. He quickly stood up and rushed to knock on the door of the secondary bedroom.

Jiang Songnian hurried over to stop him, pulling him into the bedroom, and said with a chuckle, "Why are you knocking?"

"To call them out! What are they doing hiding in the room in broad daylight?"

"Aren't you being a bit too old-fashioned? He's already an adult."

"So what if he's an adult? He's still in school and not even twenty yet!"

"And what about you?" Jiang Songnian took a step forward, cornering him against the wall, and gently brushed his nose against Lin Yanqing's. "You're twenty-five. Shouldn't you be dating?"

"I need to lead by example and not set a bad influence for the kid."

"Haven't you heard that saying?"

Lin Yanqing looked up.

"The magistrates are free to burn down houses, while the common people are forbidden even to light lamps." Jiang Songnian bumped his forehead against Lin Yanqing's and said with a smile, "We can date, but they can't. What do you think?"

"I think," Lin Yanqing rubbed his temple and said helplessly, "you're bringing bad habits into my home."

Jiang Songnian lowered his head to kiss his forehead, his expression softening. "I'll try to be more proper."